Wall siding fasteners

ABSTRACT

For a wall siding installation, each panel is provided with a fastener having a rigid, strip-like main body extending from a recess in the rear face of the panel near the bottom thereof. The rear portion of the body in the recess has a flexible rib extending along one face of the body and engaging the adjacent wall of the recess, the opposite face of the body engaging the opposite wall of the recess, such that the fastener is frictionally retained in the recess. If desired, the fastener may be additionally retained in the recess by a suitable adhesive. Two or more spaced, parallel flexible ribs may be provided.

United States Patent Cal-rick et al.

WALL SlDlNG FASTENERS lnventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

App]. No.:

Robert B. Carrick,Wi]lodale; Harold K. Dormer, Oakville; Bruce M. HudtLMississauga, all of Ontario. Canada Abitibi Paper Company Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada Nov. 5, 1971 Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 26, 1971 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1876 Hapgood 16/159 Alvarez 52/546 X Canada 126,083

FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATIONS 168,915 9/1951 Austria 52/550 Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorney-Richard K. Stevens et al.

[ 57] ABSTRACT For a wall siding installation, each panel is provided with a fastener having a rigid, strip-like main body extending from a recess in the rear face of the panel near the bottom thereof. The rear portion of the body in the recess has a flexible rib extending along one face of the body and engaging the adjacent wall of the recess, the opposite face of the body engaging the opposite wall of the recess, such that the fastener is frictionally retained in the recess. If desired, the fastener may be additionally retained in the recess by a suitable adhesive. Two or more spaced, parallel flexible ribs may be provided.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 28, 1973 3,754,365

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Aug. 28, 1973 3,754,365

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WALL SIDING FASTENERS This invention relates to wall siding fasteners.

It has been common practice for many years to attach siding panels to the walls of houses and other buildings, and the siding panels have been attached to the walls in many different ways. Siding panels should be attachable in a simple, efficient and secure manner, and the attachment should be long-lasting and able to withstand a variety of weather conditions.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an improved manner of attaching siding panels to walls.

According to the invention, each panel is provided with a fastener having a rigid, strip-like main body extending from a recess in the rear face of the panel near the bottom thereof. The rear portion of the body in the recess has a flexible rib extending along one face of the body and engaging the adjacent wall of the recess, the opposite face of the body engaging the opposite wall of the recess, such that the fastener is frictionally retained in the recess. If desired, the fastener may be additionally retained in the recess by a suitable adhesive. Two or more spaced, parallel flexible ribs may be provided.

Preferably, the main body has a straight crosssection, and the recess is inclined, such that the body projects from the panel in a direction inclined towards the bottom thereof.

The fastener may be an extrusion of synthetic plastic material, for example, polyvinyl chloride. A known technique of simultaneously extruding rigid and flexible polyvinyl chloride may be used.

Each panel is assembled on top of a lower panel, already secured to a wall, by positioning the projecting portion of the fastener body on top of the lower panel, such that the lower portion of the upper panel overlaps the upper portion of the lower panel. The upper portion of the panel is then secured to the wall, for example by nailing.

Thus, the fasteners are easily assembled with the panels, and installation is a very simple matter.

The upper edge of the panel is preferably inclined downwardly from the front towards the rear, with the same inclination as the projecting part of the fastening body.

The rear end portion of the fastener body may have a downwardly extending rigid projection, and the upper end of the panel may have a rear portion cut away so that the projection fits behind the remaining forward portion of the upper end.

The projecting portion of the fastener body preferably has holes for ventilation purposes.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which;

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a siding panel with attached fastener,

H6. 2 is a side view of the fastener,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an upper panel with fastener mounted on a lower panel,

P16. 4 is a side view, partly in section, of a siding installation, and

FIG. 5 is a side view of a lower-most panel and starting strip.

Referring to the drawings, a fastener 1 l is in the form ofa spline, and is a polyvinyl chloride extrusion. As will appear later, the fastener is a simultaneous extrusion of rigid and flexible polyvinyl chloride, and such extrusion is achieved in a manner known in the art.

The fastener 11 has a main, strip-like rigid body 12 having a pair of spaced, parallel flexible ribs 13, 14 extending along the bottom face 15 of a forward portion of the body 12.. The rib 13 is located at the forward end of the body 12, and the rib is located rearwardly of the forward end. Each rib 13, 14 is substantially triangular in cross-section, and is inclined in a rearward sense. The rear end of the body 12 has a downwardly extending rigid projection 16, which is inclined to the body 12 so as to form an obtuse angle with the body forwardly thereof. It will be noted that the ribs 13, 14 are small relative to the projection 16. The body 12 has a series of holes 17 spaced along the body rearwardly of the rib 14.

Each siding panel 18 is preferably made from a suit able fibre board substrate, and has front and rear faces 19, 21) respectively. The rear face 20 has a recess 21 near the lower end of the panel. The recess 21 extends in an upwardly inclined direction from the rear face 20, and is substantially rectangular in section, with an upper wall 22, lower wall 23, and side wall 24.

Each fastener 11 is assembled with a panel 18 by forcing the forward end portion of the fastener into the recess 21, until the forward end of the body 12 engages the side wall 24!. The ribs 13, 14 are engaged and flexed by the lower wall 23 of the recess 21, and force the upper surface of the body 12 against the upper wall 22 of the recess. If desired, a suitable adhesive may be placed in the recess 21 before the fastener 11 is inserted, so as to more securely retain the fastener therein. The forward end portion of the body 11 then projects from the recess 21 in a downwardly inclined direction, with the projection 16 being parallel to and spaced from the rear face 20 of the panel 18, and with the holes being located externally of the panel but near the rear face 20.

The upper end of each panel 18 has a rear portion cut away to provide an upper rear surface 25 spaced from the front fact 19 by a distance slightly less than the distance between the rear face 20 of the panel 18 and the downwardly extending rigid projection 16. The upper edge 26 of the panel 18 between the front surface 19 and the upper rear surface 25 slopes downwardly from front to rear at the same angle as the body 12 extends from the panel 13. The upper edge 27 of the panel between the upper rear surface 25 and the main rear surface 20 slopes downwardly at the same angle.

To install the panels with attached fasteners in a siding installation, a panel 18 is positioned on top of a lower panel 18, previously secured to a wall 28, by positioning the fastener body 12 over the upper end of the lower panel 1%, so that the body 12 engages the upper edge 26 and the downwardly extending projection [6 lies behind the upper rear surface 25, as shown in FIG. 4. The upper portion of the upper panel is then secured to the wall 28 by a series of nails 29 extending horizontally, so as to covered by the following upper row of panels, but clear of the fastener 11.

It will be noted that the fastener 11 is assembled with the panel 18 without having to penetrate any previously painted panel surface, thus avoiding the likelihood of paint failure after exposure to weather which results if a painted surface is ruptured. Also, the fastener l 1 can accommodate misalignment such as can occur when a wall is not perfectly straight or the siding courses are not exactly level. Adequate ventilation is also provided with the provision of the holes 17, and the gap between the rear surface 20 of an upper panel and the front surface 19 of a lower panel maintained by the presence of the head 30 of the nail 29.

FIG. shows an aluminum starter strip 31 for the bottom course. The strip 31 has a main portion 32 secured to the wall 28, a U-shaped bottom portion 33 and a terminal portion 34 sloping at the same angle as the upper edge of a panel. The bottom of the U-shaped portion 33 has holes 35 for ventilation purposes.

WE CLAIM:

l. A wall siding panel assembly including a siding panel having a front face and a rear face, the panel having a recess in the back face near a bottom end of the panel, and a fastener having a main strip-like rigid body with a forward portion located in the recess, a flexible rib projecting from and extending along one face of the forward portion and retaining the fastener in the recess, and a rigid projection projecting from and extending along a rear portion of said face of the body and spaced from the rear face of the panel.

2. A panel assembly according to claim 1 wherein the recess is inclined and the fastener body extends therefrom in a direction inclined towards the bottom of the panel.

3. A wall siding panel assembly according to claim 1 wherein said fastener has a pair of spaced parallel flexible ribs projecting from and extending along said forward portion of said one face of the body.

4. A wall siding installation including a wall and a plurality of siding panels secured to the wall, one above the other, each panel having a front face and a rear face, and a top edge, each panel also having a recess in the rear face near a bottom end of the panel, and a fastener for each panel, each fastener having a main striplike rigid body having a forward portion located in the recess, and a flexible rib projecting from and extending along one face of the forward portion of the body and retaining the fastener in the recess, the rear part of the body projecting from the recess and resting on the top edge of a lower panel, the recess of each panel being inclined and the fastener body extending from the panel in a direction inclined towards the bottom thereof, and the top edge of each panel being inclined downwardly from the front face towards the rear with a corresponding inclination.

5. A wall siding installation including a wall and a plurality of siding panels secured to the wall, one above the other, each panel having a front face and a rear face, and a top edge, each panel also having a recess in the rear face near a bottom end of the panel, and a fastener for each panel, each fastener having a main striplike rigid body having a forward portion located in the recess, and a flexible rib projecting from and extending along one face of the forward portion of the body and retaining the fastener in the recess, the rear part of the body projecting from the recess and resting on the top edge of a lower panel, the fastener body having a rigid projection projecting from and extending along a rear portion thereof, said projection being positioned behind a rear face of the respective lower panel, and the upper end of each panel having a rear cut-out providing an upper rear face behind which the projection lies, said upper rear face lying forwardly of said rear face of the panel.

6. A siding installation according to claim 5, wherein the projection and the rear face of the panel behind which the projection lies are parallel. 

1. A wall siding panel assembly including a siding panel having a front face and a rear face, the panel having a recess in the back face near a bottom end of the panel, and a fastener having a main strip-like rigid body with a forward portion located in the recess, a flexible rib projecting from and extending along one face of the forward portion and retaining the fastener in the recess, and a rigid projection projecting from and extending along a rear portion of said face of the body and spaced from the rear face of the panel.
 2. A panel assembly according to claim 1 wherein the recess is inclined and the fastener body extends therefrom in a direction inclined towards the bottom of the panel.
 3. A wall siding panel assembly according to claim 1 wherein said fastener has a pair of spaced parallel flexible ribs projecting from and extending along said forward portion of said one face of the body.
 4. A wall siding installation including a wall and a plurality of siding panels secured to the wall, one above the other, each panel having a front face and a rear face, and a top edge, each panel also having a recess in the rear face near a bottom end of the panel, and a fastener for each panel, each fastener having a main strip-like rigid body having a forward portion located in the recess, and a flexible rib projecting from and extending along one face of the forward portion of the body and retaining the fastener in the recess, the rear part of the body projecting from the recess and resting on the top edge of a lower panel, the recess of each panel being inclined and the fastener body extending from the panel in a direction inclined towards the bottom thereof, and the top edge of each panel being inclined downwardly from the front face towards the rear with a corresponding inclination.
 5. A wall siding installation including a wall and a plurality of siding panels secured to the wall, one above the other, each panel having a front face and a rear face, and a top edge, each panel also having a recess in the rear face near a bottom end of the panel, and a fastener for each panel, each fastener having a main strip-like rigid body having a forward portion located in the recess, and a flexible rib projecting from and extending along one face of the forward portion of the body and retaining the fastener in the recess, the rear part of the body projecting from the recess and resting on the top edge of a lower panel, the fastener body having a rigid projection projecting from and extending along a rear portion thereof, said projection being positioned behind a rear face of the respective lower panel, and the upper end of each panel having a rear cut-out providing an upper rear face behind which the projection lies, said upper rear face lying forwardly of said rear face of the panel.
 6. A siding installation according to claim 5, wherein the projection and the rear face of the panel behind which the projection lies are parallel. 